Drawing Outside the Lines

Finding Human Connection in Drawing, with Courtney Martin

Welcome back!

Last week we wrapped up our collaboration with SFMOMA/series on Ruth Asawa with a focus on her public art. We asked you to go out and draw some public art near you (and even touch it!). If you missed any of the Ruth extravaganza, you can read about her flower drawings here, her life as a parent, friend and advocate here. We ❤️ Ruth!

Nice to meet you!

I’ve been shying away from press stuff for a while, but I couldn’t resist a couple generous invitations to chat with some of my favorite people: comedian W. Kamau Bell, and writer Courtney Martin.

Since we have a LOT of new folks here (welcome, folks!) I thought sharing these interviews could be a nice way to (re)introduce myself, and for everyone to learn a little about my work, background, approach to art/drawing/life, all that good stuff. Sound good?

And if YOU haven’t introduced yourself to the community yet, head to our Introductions page and tell us a little about yourself, and see who else is here. It’s no hyperbole to say that we have the best creative community on the internet.

Alright, in case you missed my earlier post this week: W. Kamau Bell came to my studio to record his “Office Hours.” You can watch it here.

Kamau and I get ready to draw each other!

And last week, one of my dearest friends Courtney Martin interviewed me for her phenomenal podcast “How To!” that she hosts with Carvell Wallace. (Here’s the transcript.) Not only did we get to talk about stuff I deeply care about (drawing, connecting with people especially strangers, quieting inner critics and undoing perfectionism, all that jazz) we also just goofed off together.

Left: Goofball A. Right: Goofball B.

Courtney is hands down the best interviewer I know. I nominate her to grab the Fresh Air baton from Terry Gross someday. She asks the most thoughtful questions on her two podcasts, How To! for Slate and The Wise Unknown (which I did the art for!), and also interviews folks on stage at venues like City Arts and Lectures in SF, and major events like Obama summits. Related, she is a tremendous writer. She publishes a thoughtful, loving, and sometimes gutting newsletter The Examined Family, and has written a ton of powerful, ground-shifting books, including Learning in Public: Lessons for a Racially Divided America from My Daughter's School. If you’ve been with me a while, you’ll remember she and I collaborated on this poster in 2016 (which we’ll be talking about more soon here at the GUT).

A photo I took of Courntey in her former co-housing community. I am ever impressed by how she walks her talk, and how she shares space.

In this interview for How To!, Courtney and I pick up pens and draw together and talk about my life and career. We get into my ethos on drawing, the value of deep looking, my battles with perfectionism, and what it means to be an artist — a whole range of things!

Here are some highlights from our conversation, which you can listen to here.

“Drawing is Looking, and Looking is Loving”

Courtney and I start the conversation by doing a blind contour drawing of each other (of course!) This technique of connecting people is the heart of my project DrawTogether Strangers, where I get strangers to open up to each other by slowing down and looking at each other. It’s really at the heart of my entire art, drawing, and attention-paying practice.

“That’s what I point out to people: they didn’t just make an awesome drawing. They actually looked at somebody for 60 seconds without looking away. And that is something that we just do not do [in our daily lives]. Even less frequently do we let somebody look at us for 60 seconds. That creates a real state of vulnerability. And that vulnerability is... the foundation for connection.”

LEFT: Courtney with the drawing I did of her. RIGHT: Me with the drawing she did of me.

Why Time with Your Subjects Matters

Photo by Russell Yip for The Chronicle (link)

Building on that idea of drawing as a tool for connection, Courtney asked me about my story on the people of the San Francisco Public Library and how I approach drawn journalism:

By drawing people, I actually have to spend time with people. I draw from life for the most part. So the drawing, just like when we were drawing and doing the blind contour, is evidence of time spent with somebody. And I think you can really feel that in the lines. They are imperfect and they are messy, but [it is documentation of] me actually being with somebody. And then [I pair them with] people’s own words. And I think it’s why the story was so impactful. It ended up contributing to more social workers being hired… around the country… I think it’s because of the time that I spent with people and the intimacy that’s created through drawing, and that came through in [the story].

Drawing as a Source of Joy (not Judgment)

Drawing is fun because you’re just making stuff on a page and it’s silly and it’s goofy and you know what I mean?... It just feels good in your body. … We all draw when we’re young. And at some point, somebody came along and told us there was a right and a wrong way to do it. And then all of a sudden [we put] judgment on our drawing - and also on *all of our creative outlets*, and [that] sent us in a different direction…Drawing is like this thing that we [all did and loved, that we] can all come back to.

Drawing as an anti-grumpy pill

Courtney has known me for a long time, and when I admitted that I don’t draw every day in our interview, she called me OUT.

You get grumpy when you don’t!! I have to say, you should draw every day. Whenever Wendy’s grumpy, I’m like, I think maybe Wendy didn’t draw for a few days. I’m like, Wendy, ‘go draw, you’ll feel better!”

Courtney is right. If I go more than a few days without drawing my nerves get a little hot. My patience thins, and my generosity recedes. Drawing is a lot like meditation for me. Ten minutes of drawing helps me empty my mind, process my feelings and settle into my body. I’m a way better person when I draw everyday. Not to mention a better friend.

Past Blind Contour self-portraits by GUT members. Top: Marsha, Hermoine, and Krista Lee Weller. Bottom: Waydegrins, Sara Courchesre, and Dana Marine

Our Bold, Brave GUT Community

And I talk about YOU! US! How brave this community is!

I encourage people to share their drawings with each other because it is a vulnerable thing. [We put so much pressure on our artwork, but] all it is is a drawing! Who cares? You’re going to do another one the next day… let’s let go of this [idea] that it’s supposed to be “good.” It’s just evidence of creative effort that you made in those 10 minutes. Let’s get comfortable with showing the process and not getting focused on the outcome, and supporting each other in that process. I think that when we do show our work to each other, we get…over that fear that we’re supposed to be “perfect”…. And it normalizes this for the other person too. I encourage people to be brave and share work with each other.

Not Everyone Is an Artist, But Everyone Can Be!

I think everybody is creative, and everybody can be an artist. But everybody *isn’t* a practicing artist because *art is something you DO*. … An artist is somebody who makes art. When we start judging who is an artist based on whether we consider their work to be good or bad, whether we consider our own work to be good or bad, that makes no sense to me. Art is something you do. An artist is somebody who makes art. As long as you’re actively making something and practicing the art of creativity or practicing creative arts, then you’re an artist. The rest of it is a bunch of social and economic bullshit.

Art Is an Approach to Life

I do think that an artist is somebody who is making and doing something. And you can also apply that to your life. You can live in a creative way where you live from a place of curiosity and connection. Every moment you’re asking, “what else could happen here?” You push your life forward in that creative way. Like, that is being an artist because you are living in that way [from a place of curiosity, creativity, care, and connection.] You’re making your life as a piece of art. [Art] is not limited to a piece of paper. It’s about an approach to life.

You can listen to the whole interview here, and learn more about the books I’ve written, drawn, and/or edited, (like How to Say Goodbye, and Salt Fat Acid Heat written by Samin Nosrat, and The Gutsy Girl written by Caroline Paul) my drawn journalism including my columns for New York Times and California Sunday, the orgs I’ve founded and the new community studio I just launched here.

YOUR TURN

If you haven’t already (or if it’s been a while) please pop over the GUT intros and introduce YOURSELF to the crew. Art Auntie Kathleen and I and the whole GUT crew are standing by, ready to welcome you.

And for our very special paying members, we have a special assignment today that I shared on…